Enclosures for electrical and electronics devices are well known. These enclosures provide protection for electrical/electronic components contained therein. Such enclosures have been designed for interior uses within buildings and for external uses outside buildings.
A known type of enclosure 10 is shown in FIG. 1, which is exemplary of enclosures sold by a variety of manufacturers including Ohio Electrical Control, Inc. of Ashland, Ohio. FIGS. 2 and 3 show the components of the enclosure 10 of FIG. 1. The enclosure 10 comprises an upper portion 12 containing a control panel 14 to which are attached electrical and/or electronic components (see FIG. 3), and a pedestal or base portion 16 which contains wiring 18 which is run to the internal components (see FIG. 2).
A hinged interior control panel door 20 and a hinged exterior enclosure door 22 are provided for the upper portion 12. An annunciator 24 may also be provided which provides an audible or visible alarm should, for example, one or more of the electrical/electronic components in the enclosure signal an alarm condition. An access opening 26 is provided in the pedestal 16 which provides access to the wiring 18. The access opening facilitates installation of the enclosure 10 by allowing an installer to manually feed the wiring 18 through the floor of the upper portion 12 of the enclosure so that it may be connected to appropriate locations on the control panel 14.
The prior art enclosure of FIGS. 1-3, however, suffers from several drawbacks. These problems are presented regardless of whether the upper portion 12 is mounted on the pedestal 16 or on a building structural member. First, installation of the enclosure 10 may be made difficult because the position of the control panel 14 is fixed with respect to the upper portion 12 in which it is contained. Therefore, any additional wiring conduit which is run to the upper portion 12, other than through the pedestal 16, might be attached to the upper portion at locations which make wiring connections to the control panel difficult. The fact that the upper portion 12 may be rotated upon the longitudinal axis of the pedestal 16 to better position the control panel 14 with respect to the incoming wiring conduit does not solve this problem because (i) often internal building equipment or structural members will preclude rotational movement of the upper portion 12 with respect to the base, and (ii) even if rotation is not so impeded, a convenient installation position may be aesthetically undesirable. Thus, the design of the prior art enclosure 10, in which the position of the control panel 14 is fixed with respect to the enclosure in which is contained, presents a potential installation problem.
One particular installation of the prior art enclosure presents an additional problem which may cause damage to the control panel 14 over the course of time. In installations wherein the enclosure 10 contains controls for underground tanks for liquids, such as pump switches and liquid level alarms, the wiring from the underground level indicators or pumps is run from the tank, through the pedestal 16, and into the upper portion 12 of the enclosure. Although the enclosure door 22 may provide a watertight seal for the upper portion 12 of the enclosure, such a seal is not provided at the connection between the upper portion 12 and the pedestal 16. If the wiring 18 is run from an underground tank, then, corrosive gases from the tank will migrate upward through the pedestal 16 and into the upper portion 12 of the enclosure.
Service of the prior art enclosure 10 also provides a potential problem. Because the control panel 14 is covered by both the hinged interior control panel door 20 and the hinged exterior enclosure door 22, these doors must remain open when service is being performed on the control panel. If the enclosure 12, with or without a pedestal 16, is not mounted horizontally level, these doors may tend to resist staying in one place while open, possibly hampering the efforts of service personnel.
If the prior art enclosure 10 is installed outside, further drawbacks become evident. The hinged doors 20 and 22 may catch the wind once opened and move so as to provide a hindrance to service personnel. Additionally, in exterior installations, the large cross-sectional area of the upper portion 12 of the enclosure 10, as compared to the pedestal 16, is subject to loading in windy conditions in exterior installations, which can cause excessive strain to the enclosure at either or both ends of the pedestal 16. Moreover, the large cross-sectional area provides an inviting target for vandalism.
Accordingly it is an object of the present to provide an improved electrical enclosure which is generally tubular in shape which provides (i) lessened wind resistance, (ii) a less inviting target for vandalism, (iii) a more aesthetic appearance, (iv) easier installation and serviceability, and (v) a better internal gas and watertight seal than conventional electrical enclosures.